INTRODUCTION: Platelet rich plasma (PRP) has been suggested to be effective in the management of knee osteoarthritis. Review of current literature reveals conflicting evidence regarding the benefits of PRP in treating knee OA. Preclinical evidence supports the use of PRP injections to promote a favorable environment for joint tissue healing, targeting not only cartilage but also synovial and meniscal tissues which has a positive effect on delaying the progression of OA. Growth factors found in platelet granules are postulated to influence outcomes in knee OA and after total knee arthroplasty (TKA)...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: To assess the safety and therapeutic outcome of different surgical interventions for severe pancreatic fistula after pancreatoduodenectomy. METHODS: A systematic literature search was performed in PubMed database for relevant articles published between 1990 and March 2017. Descriptive statistics were performed and data are expressed as mean. RESULTS: Twenty-four studies involving 370 patients undergoing surgical interventions for severe pancreatic fistula after pancreatoduodenectomy were included...

INTRODUCTION: Cycling has seen a large increase in popularity worldwide over the last number of years. This has been linked to an increase in the number of road traffic accidents involving cyclists. Participation in cycling as part of competitive sport and endurance events has seen particular growth. AIM: To examine patients referred with spinal trauma related to cycling and to assess whether the growing popularity of cycling and particularly competitive cycling is linked to an increase in spinal trauma...

Autologous gastrointestinal tissue has remained the gold-standard reconstructive biomaterial in urology for >100 years. Mucus-secreting epithelium is associated with lifelong metabolic and neuromechanical complications when implanted into the urinary tract. Therefore, the availability of biocompatible tissue-engineered biomaterials such as extracellular matrix (ECM) scaffolds may provide an attractive alternative for urologists. ECMs are decellularised, biodegradable membranes that have shown promise for repairing defective urinary tract segments in vitro and in vivo by inducing a host-derived tissue remodelling response after implantation...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Osteoid osteoma is an infrequent but debilitating benign bone lesion which can be successfully managed by percutaneous radiofrequency ablation (RFA). There are few studies investigating the efficacy and follow-up of this treatment. An arbitrary upper limit of 15 mm has been used to differentiate between osteoid osteoma and osteoblastoma with surgery used for lesions above this limit. We aimed to analyse the cases identified from our prospectively maintained database over a ten year period since adoption of this technique in our unit...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Whether liver resection or ablation should be the first-line treatment for very early/early hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients who are candidates for both remains controversial. The aim of this study was to determine if the newly-developed Albumin-Bilirubin (ALBI) grade might help in treatment selections and to evaluate the survival of patients treated with liver resection and radiofrequency ablation (RFA). METHODS: Patients with BCLC stage 0/A HCC who were treated with curative liver resection and RFA from 2003 to 2013 were included...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Acute stress in surgery is ubiquitous and has an immediate impact on surgical performance and patient safety. Surgeons react with several coping strategies; however, they recognise the necessity of formal stress management training. Thus, stress assessment is a direct need. Surgical simulation is a validated standardised training milieu designed to replicate real-life situations. It replicates stress, prevents biases, and provides objective metrics. The complexity of stress mechanisms makes stress measurement difficult to quantify and interpret...

Sarcopaenia, or decreased muscle mass, has been the subject of a large quantity of recent literature in both medical and surgical disciplines. It has been shown, as outlined below, to be of great prognostic importance, and also may be used in certain circumstances to guide treatment. The greatest volume of research into this topic is in oncological surgical populations, in whom the prevalence of sarcopaenia has been shown to be high. However it is being increasingly studied in other patient groups. Interest in using sarcopaenia as an objective and potentially modifiable marker of frailty is increasing, especially with regards to pre-operative risk stratification and amelioration...

BACKGROUND: Acute appendicitis is the most common surgical diagnosis in young patients, with lifetime prevalence of about 7%. Debate remains on whether uncomplicated AA should be operated or not. Aim of this meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials was to assess current evidence on antibiotic treatment for uncomplicated AA compared to standard surgical treatment. METHODS: Systematic literature search was performed using PubMed, EMBASE, Medline, Google Scholar and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials databases for randomized controlled trials comparing antibiotic therapy (AT) and surgical therapy-appendectomy (ST) for uncomplicated AA...

BACKGROUND: and purpose of the study: The frequency of lung nodules in the head and neck cancer population is unknown, currently the only guidance available recommends following local policy. The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of pulmonary nodules in our head and neck cancer group and interpret the recently updated British Thoracic Society (BTS) Lung Nodule Guidelines in a head and neck cancer setting. METHODS: 100 patients were diagnosed with head and neck cancer between July 2013-March 2014, clinico-pathological, demographic and radiological data was extracted from the electronic records...

BACKGROUND: Despite different prognostic factors have been already studied, patients undergoing potentially curative resection for gastric cancer, still have a poor outcome. There is therefore the need to identify novel prognostic factors. Recently, Tumor-Stroma Ratio (TSR) was proven to be associated with prognosis in different types of cancers. Aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic value of TSR in gastric cancer patients. METHODS: 106 patients underwent gastrectomy between January 2004 and December 2015...

The term "locally advanced breast cancer" (LABC) encompasses a heterogeneous group of breast neoplasms that represent an extremely variable percentage of newly diagnosed breast cancers (4-90%, depending of world regions). These cancers may have different clinical and biological characteristics that can be managed by primary surgery or neoadjuvant integrated treatments. In this paper we review the updated guidelines and discuss most recently reported evidence related to LABC multidisciplinary workout, in order to maximize results of combined systemic therapies, modern surgical procedures and radiotherapy...

Tendinopathy is a common clinical problem and has a significant disease burden attached, not only in terms of health care costs, but also for patients directly in terms of time off work and impact upon quality of life. Controversy surrounds the pathogenesis of tendinopathy, however the recent systematic analysis of the evidence has demonstrated that many of the claims of an absence of inflammation in tendinopathy were more based around belief than robust scientific data. This review is a summary of the emerging research in this topical area, with a particular focus on the role of neuronal regulation and inflammation in tendinopathy...

INTRODUCTION: The incidence of duodenal perforation after ERCP ranges from 0.09% to 1.67% and mortality up to 8%. METHODS: This systematic review was registered in Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews, PROSPERO. Stapfer classification of ERCP-related duodenal perforations was used. RESULTS: The systematic search yielded 259 articles. Most frequent post-ERCP perforation was Stapfer type II (58.4%), type I second most frequent perforation (17...

Screening for Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip (DDH) is a controversial subject. Screening may be by universal neonatal clinical examination (Ortolani or Barlow manoeuvres) with the addition of sonographic imaging of the hip (selective 'at risk' hips or universal screening in the neonate). In the UK, the NIPE guidelines recommend universal neonatal clinical assessment of the hip joints, a General Practitioner 6-8 week clinical 'hip check' and assessment clinically with sonographic imaging at 4-6 weeks for certain 'at risk' hips for pathological DDH...

PURPOSE: To date, four synovial plicae are classically described in the knee. We report a previously undescribed new inferior patellar plica, named "bib-like plica" (BLP, referring to its morphology) related to specific symptoms of atypical recurrent anterior knee pain in the presence of a locked or pseudo-locked knee. We describe this anatomical structure, and assess its clinical relevance in daily practice in terms of clinical pattern and long-term follow-up outcome after arthroscopic excision...